WPY 2014

Bred to be killed

A captive-bred lion snarls at the manager of a lion-breeding farm in South Africa. Lions are raised to maturity and then, aged about seven, sold to hunters to be shot in special enclosures. While legal, it is highly controversial. Proponents argue that lion farms (there are around 200 in South Africa) are necessary for the survival of the species, decreasing hunting among wild populations, and serving as DNA banks to support the repopulation of areas where lions have been decimated. Critics raise ethical and welfare concerns.

Value choice

An American trophy hunter takes aim with a bow at a canned lioness on this game farm while professional guides stand ready with guns in case things go wrong. He is just one of 18,000 hunters who travel to Africa every year, paying on average $20,000 to $40,000 (although as much as $200,000 may be paid) to kill a lion. Trophy hunting is a major industry in Africa, with more land given over to hunting than to national parks. ‘We’re moving into a space where many people believe that an animal has to have economic value,’ says Brent, ‘and that means either ecotourism or hunting.’

Trophies and trade

A worker cleans the skin from a freshly shot lioness. Proponents of canned hunting argue that local people are employed both directly and indirectly (eg hotels, catering, transport). The hunter will take the skin and skull home as trophies. The other bones will be exported to the Far East for use in traditional Chinese medicine. While legal, this practice has dramatically increased the illegal trade of wild lion bones, especially now that tiger bones are so scarce. It will also increase the potential illegal trafficking of all other felids.

Choreography of the kill

Lion dancers from the Sakuma tribe perform the story of their lion killing outside a village in western Tanzania. Traditionally, these are men who have killed a lion in defence of their cattle or village. The dancers collect tributes (money, goats or cows) in praise of their bravery. The practice is actively discouraged by conservation organisations and is slowly dying out. As a result, killing a lion is something to which some young men aspire.

Lion guardians

Maasai Lion Guardians are tracking radio-collared lions. Traditional spearing by Maasai warriors, often in retaliation for cattle killings, is the greatest threat to the survival of lions in southern Kenya. The Lion Guardians conservation programme recruits Maasai men, many former lion‑killers, to track the lions, collect DNA samples, and produce identity cards for them. This confers a sense of ownership and pride among the men, forming a vanguard to prevent other Maasai from hunting lions.

Living with lions

Yusuf Shabani Difika, 41, was fishing on the border of Selous National Park, Tanzania, when he was attacked by a lion. Friends drove off the lion, but Yusuf had to have what was left of his arms amputated. He now relies entirely on his family and fellow villagers to eat, drink, wash and dress. People are especially vulnerable to attacks during harvest, when they sleep in their fields to protect their crops from wild bush pigs, which attract lions.

Photograph Details

Winner 2014

Special Award: Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year

Brent Stirton, South Africa

What future for lions?

The lives of lions are now inextricably linked to those of humans. This portfolio highlights some of the ways in which humans regard lions and utilize them. At one extreme is ‘canned-lion’ hunting, where lions are bred on farms specifically to be killed by wealthy hunters and their bones exported to Asia. Elsewhere in Africa, where the risk of a lion attack is a reality, communities are finding ways to live alongside these predators and may even engage in conservation initiatives. Lion conservation is a subject riddled with ethical and practical challenges, conflicts and compromises, all within the wider contexts of habitat loss and global economic and political pressures. The fact is, though, that lion numbers continue to fall and that
the species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

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Brent Stirton, South Africa

Brent is a photojournalist who spends half of the year on environmental issues and the other half on more conventional photojournalistic themes. He is represented by Verbatim by Getty Images and most of his work is shot for National Geographic magazine.